iCloud pictures resolution

khordin · Sep 8, 2015

Hi all,
I gave up asking Google about it and I wonder if someone here knows this.
I stored my iPhone 5s photos on iCloud. I noticed that when I download them to my PC, they look worse (have lower resolution), in comparison to what iCloud web page shows. Closer look revealed that iCloud cuts the size in half when you download photos.
Does anybody know how to get the original size photos from iCloud on a PC?
Thank you,
Yuriy

J. A. · Sep 9, 2015

Welcome to iPhoneForums, khordin!

If you use PhotoStream to get your images to the computer, they should load with their full resolution.

If you use iCloud Photo Library, try the following:
Go to www.icloud.com on your PC, login and open the Photos folder there. It's possible to save them to your computer from there too, afaik.

khordin · Sep 9, 2015

Thanks for the suggestions, J.A.
I use a Windows PC, so PhotoStream is not an option for me.
Opening photos from iCloud and downloading was the first thing I tried, and that's when I noticed the difference. I had "Optimize iphone Storage" option turned on at that time, and I guess this was the reason iCloud shrank downloaded pictures. Now, with that option off, it seems to download the same quality.
Still, it's a mystery to me, why when you email a photo from your iPhone, and chose Actual Size (see screenshot), in the received email the picture size is roughly the half of the original. Did anybody notice it? I suspect a foul play here by Apple in attempt to make users keep their pictures on iCloud and pay for extra space there.

bear7962 · Sep 9, 2015

I also have a PC. I plug my iPhone into the computer-open My Computer,- click on the iPhone icon, rt. click, click import. All you photos will be copied directly to your photos section on the pc.

khordin · Sep 9, 2015

What about photos quality when you do this? Do they have reduced size? I guess this would be the case if storage optimization is turned on in iCloud setting, since iPhone doesn't store full-size pictures in this case

bear7962 · Sep 9, 2015

This transfers the photos directly to your PC from the iPhone so iCloud is not involved.

khordin · Sep 9, 2015

Here is two fragments of the same photo. First is from iCloud browser window, second is copied directly from iPhone. The difference is clear - second image is more compressed. I can't believe I'm the first one who noticed it! Am I the only one who gets these results?

Emailing photo, or downloading from iCloud results in the same compressed image. I'm getting desperate and considering calling Apple tech. support. This is very stupid, I'm so disappointed with Apple

bear7962 · Sep 9, 2015

As I keep saying; the method I told you transfers the photo from your iPhone to you pc without using iCloud. iCloud is a storage system that compresses and therefore changes you pictures. I do not use it. You do not have to. If you don't wish to do as I do, there are other services you can store your photos on.
No you are not the first to notice this and Apple has even advised that it does this. That is a reason that many use other sources for storage of your photos.

khordin · Sep 9, 2015

I appreciate your feedback, bear7962, but you've been lucky to never use iCloud. For this reason pictures on your phone are of the original quality, and you don't have this problem. I made a mistake of using the service, and my pictures were uploaded to iCloud, and the phone has reduced quality images. That's why copying them from my phone doesn't do the trick for me. And no, iCloud doesn't shrink photos, it stores them with original quality. They problem arises when you try to get it from there.
Not that I turned off iCloud storage optimization option, hoping that original quality pictures will be downloaded to my phone from iCloud, it doesn't happen because there is not enough space on my phone to fit all 4 Gb of photos. I have to download them from iCloud, but this dumb service reduces quality when downloading.

I just spent half an hour on the phone with Apple tech. support, and they don't have a clue why this happens. All they could suggest is to try a different computer, which I did. Same crappy result. It seems that this is a dead end, and I only can hope that in new iCloud version they fix this bug. I agree with bear7962 on this - STAY AWAY FROM iCLOUD. But for many people it's too late.

bear7962 · Sep 9, 2015

Please don't put words in my mouth. My reason for not using iCloud has nothing to do with your concerns. I also have sufficient room on my phone for all my photo needs, from what you say, it does not sound like you do. Perhaps that is the connection with your problem. I don't know. But I also have not heard of a new iCloud coming out either.

Ledsteplin · Sep 9, 2015

khordin said:
I appreciate your feedback, bear7962, but you've been lucky to never use iCloud. For this reason pictures on your phone are of the original quality, and you don't have this problem. I made a mistake of using the service, and my pictures were uploaded to iCloud, and the phone has reduced quality images. That's why copying them from my phone doesn't do the trick for me. And no, iCloud doesn't shrink photos, it stores them with original quality. They problem arises when you try to get it from there.
Not that I turned off iCloud storage optimization option, hoping that original quality pictures will be downloaded to my phone from iCloud, it doesn't happen because there is not enough space on my phone to fit all 4 Gb of photos. I have to download them from iCloud, but this dumb service reduces quality when downloading.

I just spent half an hour on the phone with Apple tech. support, and they don't have a clue why this happens. All they could suggest is to try a different computer, which I did. Same crappy result. It seems that this is a dead end, and I only can hope that in new iCloud version they fix this bug. I agree with bear7962 on this - STAY AWAY FROM iCLOUD. But for many people it's too late.

Have you considered using cloud based photo apps like Box, Dropbox and OneDrive? My favorite is Box for photos. I upload all my photos into folders and subfolders. It's very organized and easy to view. It's a great alternative to iCloud.

khordin · Sep 10, 2015

I've used DropBox, and it worked well. I'll see about Box, thanks for suggestion. The issue I'm facing though is not to find an alternative to iCloud, but to get my photos from there with their original quality. It's like they're trapped on Apple server, and there is no way to get a full-size copy to anywhere else.